Dean's Brief, 1100 Days

I hope this Dean's Brief finds you enjoying spring. I know I am! Springtime in Tallahassee is always spectacular with its flowers, sunshine and green grass, and this year is no exception. We continue to have exceptional support for our students from those of you who have come to campus to speak in class and to student groups. We thank those who participated in Seminole Futures, Sales & Marketing Day, E-Day, Insurance Days, and our Hospitality Fair. We also are looking forward to a new format for the E. Ray Solomon Alumni Golf Classic and welcoming our business partners to HR Day and the Women in Information Technology Symposium. The semester culminates with our prominent alumni returning for the Bruning Speaker Series, Leadership Day and the Seventh Annual Hall of Fame. As you can see, we are busy and firmly believe that we cannot lose a generation of our students through inaction and inattentiveness.

While it has been a very rough year in these uncertain budget times, the College continues to thrive in many ways. I recently heard an analogy from an alumnus, Jim Seneff (B.S. '68), that I think sums up our attitude toward the current budget situation in the College.

"People tend to think of life as a rollercoaster, a series of ups and downs. I'm not a big fan of that analogy. Because, when you think about it, with a rollercoaster, you go through all those ups and downs and in the end you're back where you started. I contend that life is a railroad, with obstacles on one track and opportunities on the other. There are always obstacles and there are always opportunities. People tend to focus only on obstacles in the down times and only on opportunities in the good times. They exist simultaneously, so you have to keep an eye on both tracks to achieve what you want to achieve in life."
Jim Seneff, Chairman & CEO, CNL Financial Group, Inc.

We are using this financial "opportunity" as a means to do business better and smarter. As you will see below, faculty members are continuing to garner international acclaim, students have stepped up with a campaign to "protect our professors," and all have exhibited positive attitudes in the face of continual bad news. Our alumni have also responded to the College's needs in a variety of ways including: calls to legislators, suggestions for efficiencies, financial support through our annual fund, embracing our new emergency e-mail funding requests and providing internships and job opportunities for students and alumni alike. Many of you have also joined LinkedIn, Facebook and oneFSU. These outlets help us network with each of you, as well as encourage you to share information, job opportunities and support with each other. If you have not taken advantage of these social networks, learn more below and please consider joining.

Additionally, in the very near future, you will be receiving a request to fill out an alumni survey. This survey is aimed at giving us your perceptions and feedback on our programs, how they have served you and what you see on the horizon as critical areas to address. Your input really does help to shape the College, so please take the time to respond.

Lastly, we were very disappointed to learn we had fallen out of BusinessWeek's Top 100 Business Schools rankings this year. We were one of 13 eligible schools eliminated from consideration due to a low response from the student survey. For a school our size, a response rate of 20 percent was needed for eligibility – only 11 percent of our seniors replied. Even though a reminder e-mail was sent out to all COB seniors asking them to complete the survey, we failed to reach the response needed. We are dedicated to brainstorming new ways to reach the students and articulate the importance of their participation in this survey so that we can reclaim our spot in this important ranking.

College News

College of Business Launches New Online Community
In an effort to harness the value of networking and making connections, the College of Business has recently launched oneFSU! Replacing our former online community, the oneFSU online community is an information hub for all members of the Florida State University family. Members of oneFSU can view content customized to reflect their relationship to FSU.

By joining oneFSU, you will have single login access to the following groups:

College of Business Online Community
FSU Alumni Association
Seminole Boosters
FSU Foundation
The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art

The College of Business oneFSU online community has targeted content SPECIFICALLY for COB alumni only including the following:

Class Notes
Events Calendar
Job Boards
Alumni Directory
Discussion Groups
Links to our social networking sites (Facebook, LinkedIn)

TO REGISTER for oneFSU, VISIT: http://cob.fsu.edu/alumni Click on 'Register for oneFSU' under Online Communities located on the left side.

Please note that registrations must be processed by FSU and can take up to two days. If you joined our old online community, we still need you to sign up for this one. Hope to see you on the site!

TO JOIN OUR FACEBOOK PAGE, search for "Florida State University - The College of Business." We are located under Pages.

TO JOIN OUR LINKEDIN PAGE, search under Groups.

Online Giving
You may have noticed we have ramped up our requests in asking alumni to give back to the College through our recent e-mail blasts. In an effort to save money by eliminating the costs associated with direct mail, we are making a conscious effort to acquire the e-mail addresses of our 50,000+ alumni. Currently we have only 14,000 addresses. If you know of alumni who may not be connected with us, please forward this e-mail to them so they can join our e-mail list. Be on the lookout for these e-mail blasts and give when you can. You can always give online by visiting our secure giving site.

Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV)
The Army Community Covenant (ACC) program of the Department of the Army has recognized the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities Program (EBV) as a "National Best Practice" in serving soldiers and their families. The ACC is a Secretary of the Army initiative designed to identify, highlight and direct soldiers and their families to programs sponsored for their benefit to assist in the transition from military to civilian life. On the national level, the EBV Program is currently one of only four such programs in the employment category to be recognized as a best practice by the Department of the Army. Click here to read the entire story.

International experience for graduate students
Santiago, Chile became the classroom for approximately 20 graduate students this month as they spent their spring break gaining first-hand knowledge of international commerce. An additional trip to Chile is planned for August 7-12. Each trip is part of an elective course in which students earn three hours of credit by engaging in pre-and post-travel coursework and by studying in-country with expert lectures, company visits, tours and cultural events. The international experience is designed to introduce students to the challenges and opportunities inherent in global enterprise. For more information, contact Joan Gabel, the College's director of international relations.

2nd Annual Sales & Marketing Day
February 3rd marked the 2nd Annual Sales & Marketing Day with a variety of events. Beginning with a breakfast hosted by marketing faculty and provided by Waffle House and Target Copy, about 40 staff and faculty members joined in to help celebrate the day. The day also included the final competition for students to represent the College at the National Collegiate Sales Competition (NCSC). Kristen Weeks and Kailee Harshbarger won out of a slate of 10 contestants. Eighteen members of the Sales Advisory Council and two COB alumni served as judges. Immediately following was a lunch for the student competitors and judges, which was provided by Applebee's. The afternoon highlight was a presentation by Ted Simendinger entitled, "Selling to Win in the U.S. and Europe – How to Succeed in a Declining Economy." The day ended with a reception for sales and marketing students and advisory council members at the University Center Club. Kia Autosport of Tallahassee presented Joe Icerman, associate dean for undergraduate programs, with a $10,000 donation for the Sales Program. First Command awarded a "Best in Sales Class" scholarship of $500 to Ashley Pollard, Frito Lay awarded a "Best in Sales Class" Scholarship of $500 to MaryEllen White, and Kia awarded three marketing scholarships to Alyssia Hayes ($2,000), William Tate ($1,000) and Melisa Poulin ($500).

Real Estate Program Receives Grant
The Real Estate Program is pleased to announce a grant of $250,000 from the Kislak Family Fund, which will support the Real Estate Program's partnerships and forums, student achievement awards and faculty research. We are indebted to the Kislak family and look forward to developing a productive partnership.

Real Estate Market Strategies Forums
The Center for Real Estate Education & Research hosted a Real Estate Market Strategies Forum on Jan. 29 in Miami for South Florida business leaders. The forum, which had more than 140 participants, was organized to discuss conditions in the South Florida real estate market, evaluate strategies and identify opportunities. The event featured an executive panel presentation with a question-and-answer session and a reception. The Center also hosted a Real Estate Market Strategies Forum for Tampa Bay area business leaders on Mar. 4, which had 170 in attendance.

Mobile Computing on Small Devices Conference
Led by Steve Payne (MIS), the Department of Management Information Systems held a one-day conference, Mobile Computing on Small Devices – What Can You Do and How Can You Do It, this past November. Technologies like GPS, audio, video, Web browsing, data transfer, maps, photos, and more that all run on a device that fits in your pocket makes mobile computing on PDA/Smart Phones the new frontier in computing. The combination of these technologies on one device creates synergies that have not yet been realized. These devices are fullfledged computers, and their power is growing exponentially. The conference was offered to help managers and developers understand the capabilities of these powerful devices and to successfully navigate the architectural paths for harnessing these capabilities.

Faculty News

Leff Bonney (MAR) is the recipient of a First Year Assistant Professor Award from the Florida State University Council on Research and Creativity for his research project, "Understanding the Determinants of Consumer Purchase Intentions."

Patty Born (RMI) had two articles listed on SSRN's Top Ten download lists. "Claims-Made and Reported Policies and Insurer Profitability in Medical Malpractice" was listed on the top ten download list for Public Goods & Regulation in Health Economics, and "The Effects of Tort Reform on Medical Malpractice Insurers' Ultimate Losses" was listed on the top ten download list for Health Law Journals. Born also is the recipient of a 2008-09 COFRS Award from the Council on Research & Creativity (CRC) for her research proposal, "Catastrophes and Performance in Property Insurance Markets: A Comparison of Personal and Commercial Lines."

Mike Brady (MAR) and Mike Hartline (MAR) were selected to co-chair the 2010 Winter Conference of the American Marketing Association in New Orleans.

Jim Combs (MAN) was appointed as an associate editor for the Academy of Management Journal, the premier journal in management. This is an honor for him and a testament to the quality of his work and his reputation in the field.

Joe Cronin (MAR) was awarded a grant of more than $288,000 by the Institute for Energy Systems, Economics, and Sustainability at FSU. The three-year grant will be used to study sustainable marketing practices throughout Florida.

Jerry Ferris (MAN) received the Emerald Literati Network 2009 Award for Excellence for his paper, "The roles of selfdisclosure modesty and self-monitoring in the mentoring relationship: A longitudinal multi-source investigation." This was one of three awards given annually to scholars publishing in Emerald Insight's list of more than 190 journals in the fields of management, information science and engineering.

Dean Gatzlaff (RMI) has been selected to the Board of Directors for the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association (AREUEA), the area's leading academic organization.

Joey George (MIS) was honored with the AIS Fellow Award, which is one of the highest honors the Association for Information Systems bestows. Since it was first awarded in 1999, fewer than 50 people have been given the award across the entire academic discipline. According to the award announcement, the AIS recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the information systems discipline in terms of research, teaching and service. A Fellow is also expected to have made significant global contributions to the information dystems discipline as well as outstanding local contributions in the context of his or her country and region. The Department's reputation is greatly enhanced by George's induction.

Charlie Hofacker (MAR) has been awarded the 2009 Literati Network Award for Excellence for his article, "E-tail constraints and tradeoffs," published in Direct Marketing: An International Journal.

Tim Holcomb (MAN) and two of our strategy doctoral students, Jennifer Sexton and Paul Nagy, have papers that have been accepted for presentation at the 2009 Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference. This conference is widely considered the top conference for entrepreneurship scholars in the field.

Danling Jiang (FIN) received a 2008-09 COFRS Award from the Council on Research & Creativity (CRC) for her research proposal, "Gender Differences in Dynamic Risk Attitudes."

Woody Kim (HOS) has joined the editorial board of the International Journal of Hospitality Management, which is considered the top hospitality journal among academics and researchers. Additionally, Kim's article, "Online distribution strategies and competition: Are the global hotel companies getting it right?" has been chosen as an Outstanding Paper Award Winner at the Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2009. Published in the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, his paper was selected by eminent scholars as one of the most impressive pieces of work the team has seen throughout 2008.

Bruce Lamont (MAN) and Annette Ranft (MAN) were invited to join the Editorial Review Board of the Strategic Management Journal, the premier journal in the field of management.

Ruby Lee (MAR) and Daekwan Kim (MAR) received the 2008 S. Tamer Cavusgil Award at the American Marketing Association Winter Educators' Conference. The Cavusgil Award is given to the paper published in the Journal of International Marketing that made the greatest contribution to the marketing practice during the year. Their article, "Knowledge Transfer Between Multinational Corporations' Headquarters and Their Subsidiaries: Influences on and Implications for New Product Outcomes," is co-authored with Qimei Chen (Hawaii) and Jean L. Johnson (Washington State).

David Paradice (MIS) was a faculty adviser in a doctoral consortium for IFIP 8.3 WG, held in Toulouse, France. He also served as a rapporteur on a Habilitation à Diriger les Recherches (roughly: an examiner on a review of a professor's research record and ability to direct research) held in Paris, France.

Christopher Plouffe (MAR) is the recipient of a First Year Assistant Professor Award from the Florida State University Council on Research and Creativity for his research project, "Conflict Management and Negotiation Skills as Predictors of Salesperson Performance and Job Satisfaction: Interdisciplinary Approach." Additionally, he was selected to co-chair the 2010 Academy of Marketing Science Conference in Portland, Ore.

Student News

Lindsey Barton (ACG) has been selected to attend KPMG's global audit training in Europe this fall. Selected from more than 500 applications, Barton is one of 125 U.S. audit new hires selected to attend the training program, which will expose them to a global business environment while delivering a consistent training experience. The program also promotes the firm's focus on attracting and developing professionals with global views and experience. She will have the opportunity to work with colleagues from a mix of other countries including Germany and the U.K.

Becky Edwards (MAR) was a member of the U.S. Under-20 Women's National Team that captured the 2008 FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup with a 2-1 victory over Korea DPR. Edwards, a fixture in the center midfield for the United States through the entire World Cup, served as captain for one of the matches.

Stace Sirmans (REE) is presenting his research abstract, "Buying Into the Green Movement," at the National Conferences of Undergraduate Research (NCUR) held in April. Subsequently, his research will be published in the Conference Proceedings produced by the University of North Carolina for the NCUR organization.

Alumni Events and News

Bill Christiansen, who teaches the MBA Economics and Business Conditions course, led a discussion of the current economic crisis at an "Eye on the Economy" event hosted by the MBA Early Career Board in Orlando on Thursday, Jan. 29. MBA Early Career Board co-hosts were Sheila Muniz, MBA '08; Scott Newbern, MBA '08; and Heather Roddy, MBA '07. The MBA Early Career Board also held an event in Jacksonville on Thursday, Feb. 12. The event was hosted by Travis Lynch, MBA '08, and once again featured Christiansen. For more information on the MBA Early Career Board and its upcoming events, contact Melanie Yeager, board coordinator.

We embraced a unique opportunity to share an evening with the FSU Film School at its 16th annual FSU Film School screening in Los Angeles on Feb.10 at the Writers Guild of America Theater. The College of Business hosted a reception prior to the screening of the Film School's eight best short films for 2008. Several College of Business alumni, including Doug Ibold ('62 MAR) and Dean Shull ('91 MAR), are involved in the film industry.

The College of Business traveled to Naples, Fla., on Feb. 19 for a private alumni reception hosted by Kevin Stoneburner, Bill & Barbara Coen, and Gary & Angela Turner. The event was held at Stoneburner's restaurant, Stoney's Steakhouse. Guests enjoyed the opportunity to network, catch up with former classmates, meet fellow alumni in the Naples area, and hear the latest College of Business news.

Dean Beck-Dudley was invited to be the guest speaker for the Broward County Seminole Club Emeritus Society Luncheon. Alumni were excited to hear about what is happening at Florida State and the College of Business, and were especially interested in the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV). The event was hosted by Broward County Seminole Club President Mike Watson ('68 ACG) and Emeritus Society member Dorothy Kurras ('52 Business Teacher Education).

Visit http://cob.fsu.edu/alumni/events.cfm to check out photos from these and all other College of Business events!

Anne Hamilton, vice president of Resort Sales and Services for Walt Disney World Resort, received the 2008 Alumna of the Year Award from the Dedman School of Hospitality and the Society of Hosts. The award was presented at the annual Alumni Celebration Dinner held in October. Hamilton graduated from FSU in 1979 with a B.S. in Business majoring in Hotel/Restaurant Management.

Conclusion

As you can see, there is much to be proud of and much to brag about. As we move into the future, we are evaluating our curriculum, our alumni activities and how we prepare our students for the future.

Our major concern at this time is that the budget reductions will thwart the forward progress we have made over the past few years. We run the risk of providing inadequate educational opportunities to more than 6,000 business students. Many of you have asked how you can help. Here are a few ways you can show your support.

Learn more about the budget crisis (http://govrel.fsu.edu)
Call a legislator (http://www.leg.state.fl.us)
Let your family and friends know the University is facing a dire threat and will likely discontinue several programs.
Speak to a class
Fill out the upcoming alumni survey
Speak to a student group
Serve as a mentor
Provide an internship
Join our social networks
Make a gift through our e-mail requests
Talk to everyone you know about the value of higher education and what it has done for you personally
Provide a job to a student or alumnus/alumna
Write a letter to the editor of your local paper about how to help the University's budget situation
Speak to a local group about how they can help support the University
Attend our alumni events
Brag about graduating from the Florida State University College of Business

Thanks for all you do.

Caryn

Calendar of Events:
March 25		Human Resource Day (HR Day)
March 27		Distinguished Ph.D. Alumnus Event – Hugh Watson, Ph.D., University of Georgia
April 2		Charles A. Bruning Speaker Series – Bruce Lucker, President & CEO, Signature Golf
April 2-3		Human Resource Management Center Bi-Annual Meeting
April 3		Leadership Day
April 3		E. Ray Solomon Golf Classic
April 3		7th Annual Hall of Fame Dinner & Ceremony
April 4		College of Business Board of Governors Spring Meeting
April 8		Women in Information Technology Symposium
May 2		Spring Commencement
May 12		Retired COB Faculty & Staff Luncheon